Jobs flow both ways between India, U.S.; Indian ambassador visiting North Carolina this week
Raleigh News & Observer, August 25, 2006

John Murawski, Staff Writer

It wasn't long ago that India didn't qualify as much of a business destination on anyone's itinerary.

But things have changed rapidly. The world's second-most populous nation is flexing its economic muscle and developing a ravenous appetite for oil and nuclear energy.

Additionally, India's precarious location between China to the east and Pakistan and Afghanistan to the west have also contributed to elevating the pluralistic democracy into an emerging strategic partner for the United States.

For the first time in three decades, the United States is weighing lifting a restriction that would allow American businesses to sell nuclear technology to India. The policy change could present a big boon, not only to nuclear developers such as General Electric and Westinghouse, but also to nuclear operators such as Duke Energy in Charlotte and Progress Energy in Raleigh.

India, which now has 14 operating nuclear reactors, needs to build between 35 and 50 reactors to meet growing energy demand, said Ronen Sen, India's ambassador to the U.S.

Sen is visiting North Carolina this week to meet business, academic and political leaders to strengthen bonds between India and the United States. Sen said his goal is to network, build on the close relations between the two countries, and encourage future business cooperation and academic ties.

Sen spoke with staff writer John Murawski.

Q: In recent years, India has become a hub of outsourced jobs by North American companies such as Nortel Networks, Cisco Systems, IBM and many others. Is India taking American jobs?

A: People know about our call centers. What they don't know is that Indian companies are doing the same thing abroad. This is a two-way street. There are seven centers in the United States so far -- of just one company. There are other companies as well.

Q: Why would Indian firms hire foreigners abroad with so much human capital available on its own shores?

A: They look at it in terms of time zones. Not just in the U.S., but all over Europe. They need people who speak German and other languages. Indian companies are now investing abroad. To be competitive, they need to be based here. Not just offices, but local manufacturing plants.

Q: Should Americans view India as a Third-World source of cheap labor?

A: Businesses come for the cost savings. But they stay for the quality. ... There are more FDA approved pharmaceutical companies in India than in any other country outside the United States.

Q: Is there more to India-U.S. relations than business?

A: Any relationship to be stable has to be based on mutual benefit. ... Democracies have not gone to war against each other. No democracy in the world has had a famine.